Clasp.



No. 765,995. PATENTED JULY 26, 1904. L. H. ROSSUGK.

CLASP.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24. 1904.

N0 MODEL.

(6660 1 '1 (eggs Patented July 26, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS H. RO SSUCK, OF THREEOAKS, MICHIGAN.

CLASP-4 SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 765,995, datedJuly 26, 1904:.

Application filed March 24, I904.

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LoUIs H. RossUoK, a citizen of the United States,residing at T hreeoaks, county of Berrien, State of Michigan, haveinvented a certain .new and useful Improvement in Clasps; and Ideclare'the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates in general to clasps, and more particularly to aclasp for attaching a button to a garment.

- The accidental pulling off of buttons, especially Suspender-buttons,causes a great deal of inconvenience and annoyance. In such emergenciesit is desirable to have-a button which may be quickly andsecurelyattached to the garment in lieu of the detached button withoutrequiring a needleand thread.

The primary object of my invention is to' provide a clasp having fixedthereon a button which may be readily secured to a garment and whichwill sustain a severe strain without either becoming detached or tearingthe engaged portion of the garment.

A further object of my invention is to provide a clasp which will besimple in construction, inexpensive in manufacture, and efiicient inuse.

My invention generally described consists in a clasp composed of a cliphaving two substantially parallel side portions united by an integraltop portion adapted to receive a portion of a garment-as, for instance,the top of a pair of trousersa tongue extending through a slot in one ofthe side portions of the clip and adapted to force the interposedgarment against projections on the inner surface of the opposite side ofthe clip, a lever rigidly secured to the tongue for swinging the sametransversely across the space within the clip or vertically adjacent toone side of the clip, said lever having its upper end offset to overliethe top of the clip and provided with a boss adapted to engage a recessin the top Serial No. 199,847.' (No model.)

of the-clip to retain the tongue across the space within the clip.

My inventionwill be more fully describe hei-eiuafterwith reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which the same is illustrated asembodiedin a convenient and practical form, and in which r Figure 1 is a sideelevational viewofthe clasp in position upon a garment; Fig.2, a centralsectional view showingtheclasp-open and detached from the garment; Fig.3, asec tional view on line 3 3, Fig. .1; and Fig.4, a sectionalelevational view -ofthe tongue and actuating-lever.

Similar reference characters. are used to designate similar parts in theseveral figures of the drawings. 1. y A designates a clip having-twoL'substan? tially parallel side portions A and A, united atcorrespondingends by the integral top portionA- Theclip' may be madeofany suit: able material, preferably metal, possessing some resiliency.F

B designates a lever carrying at its lower end-anintegral tongue B. Theupperendaof the lever-Bis offset, so as to overlie the-top portionofthezclip A when the clasp is inpositionto grip the'garment orinterposedmaterial. A. boss Z) is formed on the under SUI? face ofthebent upper end ofthe lever B and is adapted .to .be received in therecess a, formed in the outer surface of the top portion of the clip.The tongue B. is united to the lever B by a restricted portion B whichextends through a slot A in one of the side portions of the clip. Ears aextend inwardly from the side walls of the opening A and serve to retainthe restricted portion B of the tongue at the bottom of the opening A Z26 indicate ears projecting laterally from the opposite sides of therestricted portion 13 and serve to engage the outer surface of the sideof the clip through which the tongue extends.

a' designates sharp points or projections extending inwardly from theinner surface of the side portion of the clip opposite to the tongue B.

C designates a button which is secured to the lever B by any suitablemeans such, for instance, as extending its shank 0 through an opening inthe lever.

The manner of assembling the parts comprising my invention are asfollows: The ears 0 are so bent as to permit the tongue B being insertedthrough the opening A and then given a quarter-turn, so as to bring thereduced portion B thereof transversely across the slot A at the lowerend thereof. The ears (6 are then bent inwardly, so as to lie above therestricted portion of the tongue,and thereby retain the tongue in thedesired relation to the clip. I/V hen it is desired to use the clip, thelever is swung to the open position, (shown in Fig. 2,) and the garmentor other material to be grasped is then placed between the two sideportions of the clip. The lever is then swung upwardly from the positionshown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 1, which causes the tongue B toforce the material tightly against the points (4, thereby securelygripping the material and preventing the accidental detachment of theclasp. When the lever is swung into the closed position, (shown in Fig.1,) the boss 6 snaps into the recess (0, thereby securely locking thetongue across the space within the clip and causing the same to tightlygrip the interposed material. When it is desired to disengage the claspfrom the garment or other material, the lever B is swung from theposition shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2, which oscillates thetongue away from the points a and permits the material to be readilydisengaged from the points and removed from the clip without tearing orabrading the same.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that I have inventedan improved clasp adapted to be readily secured to and detached from agarment or other material, and especially adapted for securing a buttonto a garment. I do not, however, wish to be understood as limiting myinvention to a-clasp for detachably engaging a button to a garment, asit is obvious that it might be used for other purposes.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a clasp, the combination with a clip comprising two parallel sideportions united by an integral top portion, one of said side portionshaving an opening therethrough and the other having inwardly-projectingpoints, a tongue adapted to pass through said opening and having areduced portion to rest at the lower end of the opening, lugs formedintegrally with said clip at either side of the opening therethroughadapted to be bent inwardly after the insertion of the tongue throughthe opening to retain said reduced portion of the tongue at the lowerend of the opening, a lever rigidly secured to said tongue foroscillating the same-and provided with a bent end adapted to overlie thetop portion of said clip, and a boss on said bent end adapted to engagea recess in the top of the clip to retain the tongue in position to gripthe interposed material against said projecting points.

2. In a clasp, the combination with a clip comprising substantiallyparallel side portions united by an integral top portion. one of saidsides having an opening therethrough, a tongue extending through saidopening and adapted to grip an interposed material against the oppositeside of the clip, said tongue having a reduced portion to rest at thelower end of said opening, lugs formed integrally with said clip ateither side of the opening therethrough and adapted to be bent inwardlyafter the insertion of the tongue through the opening to retain saidreduced portion of the tongue seated at the lower end of the opening anda lever integrally united to said tongue for oscillating the same togrip a material between the same and the inner surface of the oppositeside portion of the clip.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of twowitnesses.

LOUIS H. ROSSUCK.

Witnesses:

Geo. L. WILKINSON, C. C. CUNNINGHAM.

